Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1887-06-01
TIE PRETTY WIDOW BOARDER.
Why She Bought a Heavy Trunk and Paid
Two Weeks in Advance.
New York sun,


ty-third street the other day and asked
the keeper of fashionable boarding
house what she meant by the fol owing
advertisement:
"WRnted-Two hoarders; Sl2 each per
week; reference from professional men
preferred; references from publishers and
manufacturers notsccep,ed. No. = East
TWenty-third street"
"Several weeks ago." the lady said,
after STIMULATING that her name should not
be published, "a fashionabIy dressed
woman came here for board. She said
she was widow of means and wanted q
quiet home for an indefinite period. Her
beautiful face and rich clothing, as well
as her refined appearance, pleased
me very much, but l asked for
her references. She named a pub
Usher en- Blocker street, to whom
| sent note asking if he knew the lady.
got q cordial endorsement of her in re-
turn, and next day che moved in with q
big trunk. My servants, who carried the
trunk up stairs, noticed that it was very
heavy. In fact, it took three Of the
ColOred walters to get il up to the third
floor back room, which the widow said
she preferred 10 occupy as it was quiet,
was the cheapest room in the house, and
only charged her 50 q week for it.
"Well, l was greatly pleased with my
beautiful DOarder, VINO insisted on pay
ing me two weeks in advance and taking
my receipt. For the first few days she
came down to the parlOr every evening,
and in , week knew every gentleman and
lady In the house. She seemed bent On
making herself popular, and toward the
end OF the week she had begun TO visit
the ladies in their rooms. Well, on
Saturday night she asked one lady if
she did not want to buy for 81 book
Of steel engravines which had been pur-
chased by the widow for $40. Il found,
after got home,' said the widow, 'taat
had received the Identical book from q
friend the same day. The book was
sold. On Sunday the widow came into
the peTlor with her arms full Of illustrated |
books Of history and portfolios of en-
cravings. she had thought some Of US
might like TO look over the collection
she SAID, and of course we did |
MT object, although l commenced to |
think my new LOGGER was taking a
great deal Of pains TO please the comper-
alive strangers. I looked over some of |
them myself and listened to her explain |
that they were from a collection of dear1
friend, who had asked her to take them I
TO q secondhand store the next day and |
sell them. All Of sudden It struck me |
as quite peculiar that every one of those |
books was new, and mad been published |
recently. Moreover they were all pub !
liShed by one man, and that one man |
was the gentleman who hGd sent me such
warm commentator of my new boarder.
I brt mn n 7 mr. of
began to think and listen and watch. The
widow by this time was surrounded by
a dozen of my gentlemen boarders and
three or four ladies, and was disCoursing
on the merits of the books. In ten min
utes she had sold book to every young
man there ;simply chsrmad the money out
of them by the power of her beauty. She
was SO gald, she said, to think that her
dear friend would realize at least q pOr
ton OF what the books were worth. I
said nothing, but thought a great deal,
and that night, when l met the widow
coming dGwn stairs with another armful
Of books, invited her into my private
parlor and told her that l would have TO
ask her to give up her room.
'Tndeed, cannot" she said placidly,
81 paid you two weeks in advance, aud
my time is not up until next Saturday"
"You are nothing more nor less than q
book canyasser," | said 6ngTily.
"Well, yes, do sell books sometimes,
but l am going to stay here until Satur-
day. Now, Mrs. OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
let ne make bargain | will be careful
not TO shock the prOprieties any more
than l can help in discharging my duty
Thick Of her impudenCe-but must sell !
my books, and sell them l will, and ifyou ]
interfere with me- / will raise scene, and
you'll lose 3 good many bOarders."
"She said this with exsSperating cool /
ness, but l knew | couldn't help myself. /
She stayed here until Saturday night, and {
she sold her whole trunktul of books :
right in this house. She would 90 to ]
every lady's room night after night and I
talk up her books until some of them /
her true business. On Thurs {
lay and Friday nights she began to inter
view the gentlemen bOarders at their I
room doors. She never would 20 into
heir rooms. l will say she seemed re-
spectacle and careful Of her reputation,
)ut it certainly was aggrava.iDg to me to o
ind that woman talking up her books in I
every corner of the house. 9
"She lett on Saturday afternoon, and |
noticed that her trunk was carried sway '
4 an express wagon, while she walked l
NO doors down the street and into an {
'ther boarding house. The next day
earned that she was living there, and a
vent down to see the boarding house =
ady, who is friend of mine. The widow
lad brought 3 letter of reference
rom a Broadway msnufsctur- c
r, and she had g heavy trunk. 4
She had likewise paid two weeks p
oard in advance. In 3 few days the S
eeper of the house came to me and told !
ne that her new boarder was selling cor C
cts and dress goods to all the ladies and v
eckties to all the gentlemen boarders. I!
"Now you know why l want references p
rom professional men, ard why l will o
OF accept references from publishers s.
nd manufacturers. The professional
len have no goods to sell, and therefore y
hey will not supply me with boarders in 3
be persons Of canyassers."